About six weeks after being bounced from the mayoral race, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher is being courted by the Democratic Party.

On Wednesday, San Diego County Democratic Party Chairman Jess Durfee sent a letter to the San Diego independent urging him to join the ranks of hundreds of thousands of area residents who identify as Democrats.

“Your leadership in the military and in the legislature demonstrates a genuine commitment to public service. Now that the primary election is behind us, I hope you’ll take the opportunity to continue that record of service as a Democrat,” Durfee wrote.

A lifelong member of the Republican Party, Fletcher severed ties with the GOP on March 28, saying the political environment and culture was geared toward dysfunction rather than toward getting people to solve problems. The declaration came shortly after the party endorsed Republican San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio.

A representative for Fletcher said he was on a mountain-climbing trip and unavailable for comment.

Since DeMaio and Democratic Rep. Bob Filner emerged from the primary, there's been widespread speculation about whether the 35-year-old Fletcher would plot a return to his GOP roots or defect to the Democrat Party to seek another office. Much of that stems from the difficultly of running without institutional partisan support.

On the campaign trail, Fletcher stressed that he still held core Republican values and that he never considered becoming a Democrat.

In the letter, Durfee wrote that he believes Fletcher shares many of the values that make for a strong Democratic Party and that he would “find a big tent and a welcome home here.”

“During your time in the Assembly, you’ve voted to support numerous Democratic priorities. You authored bills to help homeless youth, to assist our aging veterans, and to let workers who have lost their jobs keep their health insurance,” Durfee wrote, adding that Fletcher demonstrated his ability to work with local labor leaders to help avoid a janitors strike.

When Fletcher worked to close a corporate tax loophole and provide relief to small businesses and the working poor, Democrats applauded while Republicans criticized the position, he said.

Durfee's letter also notes the independent’s support for abortion rights, LGBT equality and environmental protection, positions that appear to dovetail with the platform of the Democrat Party.

“Political parties and people evolve. In recent years, many of us have watched the Republican Party move farther and farther from the values that most Californians hold,” Durfee wrote.

“At the same time, we have watched you grow as a leader by making the bold move of leaving the Republican Party. It seems only natural for that evolution to continue.”